Nice article on the dubious benefits of your smartwatch replacing the EKG machine. The author concludes the essay with the following line: The wearable EKG offers the comforting weight of medicine itself, worn on the wrist like an amulet warding off evil, whether it ever gets used or not.
The benefits of amulets cannot be denied. To the believer, they do work. I remember as a child, receiving one from my grandmother to ward off bad dreams. It took her about a month to get it to my parents by post. The process of making a customized amulet was fairly involved.
It was a tiny silver case containing some herbs in it sealed off with wax. I was warned not to poke or prod it. It was placed under my bed and like magic, there were no scary dreams again. A lot had to do with faith, ritual, and anticipation. Grandma's amulet was billed as the remedy that never failed to work - every grandchild at some point has received one of them for an assortment of maladies - poor grades, class bully problems, bad manners, lackluster appetite and what not. Her success rate was a hundred percent so ofcourse it would work for me too.
The benefits of amulets cannot be denied. To the believer, they do work. I remember as a child, receiving one from my grandmother to ward off bad dreams. It took her about a month to get it to my parents by post. The process of making a customized amulet was fairly involved.
It was a tiny silver case containing some herbs in it sealed off with wax. I was warned not to poke or prod it. It was placed under my bed and like magic, there were no scary dreams again. A lot had to do with faith, ritual, and anticipation. Grandma's amulet was billed as the remedy that never failed to work - every grandchild at some point has received one of them for an assortment of maladies - poor grades, class bully problems, bad manners, lackluster appetite and what not. Her success rate was a hundred percent so ofcourse it would work for me too.
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